Page 48 of Queen of the Cursed Egg
“Yup. Time for them to go play with the others.” I arch a brow as I watch him bounce a little, his excitement vibrating from him in almost palpable waves.
“Can we?” His eyes dart to his daughter, then back up at me, the gold of them brightening with anticipation.
“Only if you get Thauglor to go with you. Not that I don’t think you are capable on your own.” My eyes move to his wing. Even though it’s healed, it’s not as strong as it once was, the muscles a shade thinner, the veins more prominent beneath the stretched skin.
“Deal.” Abraxis agrees so quickly my head almost spins, the word bursting from him in an eager rush.
‘Mind joining us on the cliff? Abraxis wants to see if Lily can glide yet on the thermals,’I reach through the mental bond, speaking directly to Thauglor, the connection between us warming like sunlight on stone.
His side of the bond flares to life, the sensation like a match striking in my mind, and I hear his boots pounding on the marble floor as he runs towards us, the rhythmic slap echoing through the corridors. “Let’s go!” He runs past us, a blur of movement and the scent of leather and dragon musk.
I shake my head, looking at the two black dragon males in the nest. “With as old as they are, you would think they would be a little more...” Balor leaves it hanging, amusement coloring his tone.
“Calm, relaxed, adult, less childlike?” I finish his sentence as we step outside, the fresh mountain air filling my lungs, cool and sharp with pine. Lily is still walking behind me with her clutch mates, their excited noises a counterpoint to the wind whispering through the trees.
“Something like that,” Balor says as we watch Abraxis and Thauglor discussing something at the edge of the cliff, their voices carrying on the breeze, indistinct but animated.
I stop in the middle of the courtyard and kneel, the stone cool and rough beneath my knees. “Lily, your daddy is going to take you on your first flight. Daddy Thauglor is going with you as well. If at any point you don’t want to do something they are trying to get you to do, call for me.” I lean down and lower my horns to my daughter. Ifeel the moment her little horns touch mine, the connection like a current running between us, and I smile. She reaches up and rubs her little scaled face against mine, the texture both smooth and rough at once, familiar and precious. The softest purr escapes her lips, vibrating against my skin, and I purr with her, the sound rumbling deep in my chest. I wish I had gotten to experience this with my mother, the thought a dull ache beneath my ribs.
Ziggy manifests and takes his daughters down to the lower courtyard, so they aren’t tempted to jump too. The air shimmers around him as he phases, the scent of ozone briefly intensifying. Klauth joins us, as well as the rest of my mates. Callan and Vaughn shift just in case Lily needs them, their transformations sending waves of heat through the air, accompanied by the soft crackle of bones and tissue rearranging.
“Anxious little momma?” Klauth asks as he hugs me to him, his body solid and reassuring against mine, smelling of winter frost and ancient forests.
“Very. She’s the first hatchling in who knows how long learning to fly.” We walk close to the edge and look down, the wind stronger here, pulling at my hair and clothes. All of the other hatchlings are down below with their parents watching, their scaled bodies catching the sunlight, flashes of color against the dark stone of the courtyard.
“Maybe once a week, we can allow the others to use up here as a launch point for the hatchlings?” Klauth asks, and I draw in a deep breath, considering it, tasting the metallic tang of altitude and the sweet scent of the valley below.
“That wouldn’t be a bad idea. I imagine this is a huge bonding moment for the flight, teaching the hatchlings to fly?” I watch Thauglor explaining to Lily about how her wings move and showing for her, his massive black wings unfurling with a sound like sails catching wind.
“It’s a monumental moment. As the dominant dragoness, you would normally be the one to take the babies into the air and glide with them for the first time.” Klauth tilts his head, then motions to Thauglor and Abraxis, their expectant gazes turning to me, almost tangible in their intensity.
“They’re stalling, waiting for me, aren’t they?” I shake my head, smirking before shifting, my body changing with a series of pops and cracks, scales erupting from my skin with a whisper of friction. I lay down, my larger form taking up much of the courtyard, the stone warm beneath my belly. My dragoness rumbles to my daughter, the sound vibrating through the air, and she runs over and claws her way up my scales, the tiny pricks of her talons a familiar sensation.
Ziggy phases back up here with three larger hatchlings in tow, the air around them rippling like heat waves. “The parents would be honored if you took their children with you.” Ziggy shows me our nephew William is with the additional two hatchlings, all of them chirping excitedly, the sound high and musical.
I nod my dragon’s head slowly and rumble to the hatchlings to join Lily; the sound making the smaller stones around us vibrate. Turning my head slowly, I look at Klauth, my vision sharper in this form, every detail of his face in perfect focus. “This is an immense honor, to be the one to take the babies for their first flight.” I use my maw and push him towards my side, the scent of him stronger to my dragon senses. “I’ll join you, my love.” He climbs onto my dragon’s back and positions the hatchlings against my frill, their tiny claws scratching against the harder scales there, their excited chirps filling my ears.
Abraxis and Thauglor join us, and I stand slowly once everyone is in the right place, my muscles bunching and releasing beneath my scales. I run to the edge of the cliff; the stone crumbs slightly beneath my weight, and use my hind legs to leap up into the sky, the momentary weightlessness making my heart soar. Several powerful flaps of my wings and I shoot up past the clouds. The cool moisturecondensing on my scales, and glide, the air currents supporting me like invisible hands.
“Alright, kids. One at a time, we will have one of you jump off Mina and spread your wings wide and glide,” Thauglor announces before he jumps off my back, the sudden absence of his weight making me adjust my flight pattern. He glides, remaining human, his wings spread wide against the blue expanse of sky.Must be nice to be a black dragon and have his wings in human form still.
‘It’s not as fun as you think it is. They get in the way a lot more than they are useful,’Thauglor says to me through our bond, his mental voice tinged with amusement.
“Lily wants to go first,” Abraxis announces, pride evident in every syllable.
I tilt my head and rumble to her, telling her how proud of her I am and giving her last-minute pointers, the sound vibrating through both our bodies. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her spread her wings and change their angle, the membrane catching the sunlight, pitch black like a living void. The minute the angle changes enough, I feel her weight leave my back, the sudden lightness making me adjust my flight once more. I turn a little more and see her gliding about two feet over my right wing, the air currents created by my larger body helping to support her. My heart swells with pride watching her, a warmth spreading through my chest that has nothing to do with my lightning. Thauglor moves to glide behind her, making sure she’s safe, his presence a dark shadow against the brilliant blue of the sky.
William is the next hatchling to try gliding. He imitates Lily perfectly until I feel his weight leave my back as well, another adjustment needed to maintain my steady course. Abraxis is whooping and hollering, excited that our daughter and nephew are flying, his voice carried away by the wind but his joy infectious. The last two hatchlings eventually join Lily and William, and they fly in their own littleformation, wings catching the sunlight, casting moving shadows on my scales below.
As the little ones tire, their wings beginning to tremble with exertion. Thauglor and Abraxis catch them and help them lie back down next to my frill, their tiny bodies warm against my back. Lily stays in the air the longest, chirping happily as she moves to land on my frill on her own. Her landing is a bit clumsy but successful. I couldn’t be more proud of my daughter, the feeling so intense it’s almost painful.
I turn for home and head over the lower courtyard, hovering, the downdraft from my wings stirring up dust and small debris below. The little ones leap off my back with Thauglor and glide down to their parents, their tiny wings working hard to control their descent. I land further away and lay down, the impact of my weight sending tremors through the ground, letting Klauth and Lily off my back. Abraxis leaped off before I laid down, his wings unfurling with a snap like canvas catching wind.
We have almost a dozen and a half hatchlings now in the flight, with another nine eggs waiting to hatch. When I shift back, my bones cracking and reforming with familiar discomfort, I look at all the families under my protection. Hatchlings are running in and out from between the adults, their scales catching the light in flashes of color, their excited chirps and rumbles filling the air with joyful noise.
All the years I’ve lived here, I don’t remember seeing other children other than me. This—this cacophony, this riot of movement and color, this tapestry of scents and sensations—this is what a healthy flight looks like. It’s all because of the love I found with my mates, a love that transformed not just my life but the future of our entire species.
CHAPTER 33
